Lahti University students design furniture for victims of displacement

10 students from Finland's Lahti University of Applied Sciences have designed a collection of essential furniture items for those affected by natural disasters and the ongoing refugee crisis.

The designs are the result of a research project named Rehome, which saw students from the school's Institute of Design tasked with creating temporary products for those who have had to suddenly leave their homes without belongings. "The main idea behind Rehome was to design temporary products that could provide an answer to humans' primary needs when suddenly rehoused," one of the students, Iida Nordgren, told Dezeen. "The furniture designed within Rehome can be manufactured automatically with the lowest costs possible. For example a cardboard bed can be manufactured around 3500 pieces in one hour – and no tools are required for assembling." Students came up with a list of things that would cater to "the most urgent human needs", which they identified as sleeping arrangements, privacy, and social interaction. Low-cost materials were used, such as plywood and cardboard. To make the furniture as efficient to assemble as possible, the designers opted for a slotting method – meaning each piece can also be taken down quickly and easily. Read more on Dezeen